Bracelet clasp



' Aug. l5, 1944. iE. RoDIGLlEz 2,355,926

' BRACELET cms?A y Filed md/24, 1942 INVENTOR.

Emil Rooigue' Patented Aug. 15, 1944 BRACELET CLASP Emil Rodriguez, New York, N. Y., assignorv to J acoby-Bender, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation; of New Yorki Application December 24, 1942, Serial No. 470,012

1 Claim.Y

This invention relates `toclasps for watchbracelets. andinoreY particularly to. an improved center catch. claspfor releasably securing the center ofy awatchrbracelet.

The main desiderata of a center catch claspare, (a.) security in its.` clasping function, and (b)r ease and-simplicity of manipulationor operation.

With theseshould be-joined4 structural simplicity, strengthand attractiveness. rThe present inven tion.A pertains to a center catch` clasp which co1- lectively and uniquely embodies these 4 desiderata.

The* ideal watchl bracelet. center. catch clasp must possess assurance or` security in.. its clasping, function.v Therefore, the locking members thereof must` beso constructed that: the parts cannot be unlocked orloosened by accidental or other undesired engagement' with. an articleof clothing or other object, such accidental loosen ing being one of the causes of lost bracelets and Watches. In the.- clasp ofthe presentfinvention, this objectof security ofA theclasping, function is effectively accomplished vbythe provision of locking members which aref so protectively; housed.y

andarranged that `the possibility ofy the unlocking part or parts thereof becoming accidentally engaged. or operated is effectively minimized'` oren-` tirely obviated.

Ease and simplicity of manipulation of such a clasp entail the accessibility of the parts and the facility offered for moving the sameto both open and lockedconditions. In the clasp of the present invention, the structure is so designed that the unlocking part or par-ts is rendered accessiblev for desired manual. `manipulation even though these parts are protectively housed and thereby made normally inaccessible to` accidental or undesired engagement. These parts-are also so constructed andv designed that a strainless nger or finger nail manipulation or operation will serve to unlock. these parts and move the same to bracelet open condition.

InV addition `to fullling these prime desiderata.. the center catch claspof my present invention is structurally sturdy, made up of few and simple parts, capable of easeofassembly r disassembly and offers an ornamentally attractive clasp design.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the invention. relates to the improved center catch clasp and' the structural organization thereof hereinafter sought to be' defined in the claim and described in this specification in connection with the appended drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a View of the bracelet clasp of my invention showing the manner of its use;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof with parts broken away to reveal the internal construction thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view thereof taken in the plane of the line A3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a view thereof taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view thereof similar to Fig. 2 and` showing the manner of unlocking the same;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View thereof showingA the manner of dissociating or detaching the parts thereof for the purpose of opening the bracelet;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of thelocking members thereof; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the mating member thereof. v

Referring now more in detail to the drawing thereof, the watch bracelet center catch claspv of my present invention comprises, essentially a. pair of end links generally designated as A and B, the end link A being apertured and the end link B being formed as a housing and carrying the clasp members of the catch. The said clasp members in their generic aspects comprise a closure element generally designated as I0 for the housing link B, pivoted at the end of said housing link B and provided at its inner or free end with a latch engaging part which is receivable by the housing of the link B and which is adapted to mate or cooperate with a movable latch element generally designated as II arranged within said housing link B, the closure element I@` and the latch element I I being arranged to interlock when the closure element is moved to its closed position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. It is of the essence of the invention that these described parts are so constructed and arranged as to accomplish the main as well as the ancillaryl desiderata or objects of the invention above described.

The apertured link A comprises av member made of suitable sheet metal and formed to. provide a body I2 fashioned at one end as aY receptacle for receiving the bracelet cord ends I3, and fashioned at its opposite end to provide an aperture I4 for detachably receiving the closure element IEl of the clasp. This end linkA is otherwise conventionally formed as is most clearly shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6 of the drawing.

The other end link B is also made from suitable sheet metal and is formed at one end to provide a receptacle portion I5 for receiving the cord ends I6 of a watch cord bracelet Il, the same being formed at the other end generally designated as I8 for mounting and housing the members of the clasp. This end link B is as stated formed as a housing and provides for the main body thereof a top wall I9, opposite side walls 20.

corresponding end of the link B and provided at its inner end with one of the locking elements of the clasp. This closure element i!) forms when in its closed position a top closure for the housing link B, covering and concealing from viewl the mounted and operating parts of the clasp. This closure element separately shown in Fig. '7 of the drawing comprises a member also made of suitable sheet metal and formed to provide a top closure part 28, a pivot pintle surrounding part 29 at one end thereof, and a downwardly hooked latch engaging part 3u at the other end thereof. The part 29 is made large enough to house the coil part 3i of a spring having the two ends 32 and 33, the end 32 engaging the body 28 of this closure element. The closure element with the said spring is pivotally mounted on the pivot pintle 25. The downwardly hooked part 3D is receivable by the aperture 22 in the end link B and the same is oriced at 3d and othern wise shaped to form a latch engaging pai-t.

l The latch element il separately shown in Fig. 8 and also suitably formed from sheet metal comprises an angle shaped element formed to provide a latch 35, a part 33 at right angles thereto against which the spring end 33 is adapted to bear, and a bearing 3l for receiving the'pivot pin 26. The latch 35 is adapted to mate with the latch engaging part of the closure id, being urged into this engagement by the action of the spring. This latch element pivotally mounted on the pivot pin 26 is housed within the housing link B.

By means of the construction thus far described, `it will be seen that normally (with the bracelet applied and the clasp in locked condition) the closure element l is held locked by the mating or interengagement of the latch element Il with the latch engaging part of the closure element i0. It will be further seen that these locking parts are concealed within and housed by the housing link B. From an inspection of Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will be further seen that the latch element I l (and all of its parts) is below the level of the highest part of the closure element l0. It will be also noted that both the closure element l0 and the latch element il are pivotally mounted about horizontal axes and that the unlocking of the parts, held in their positions by the action of the spring ends 32 and 33, can be eifected only by movement of the latch element Il about its pivot and against the action of the s-pring. Due to this described construction and arrangement of the locking members, the parts cannot be unlocked or loosened by any accidental or other undesired engagement with an article of clothing or other object, the locking members being so protectively housed that the possibility of the unlocking part or parts thereof becoming accidentally engaged or operated is eiectively minimized or entirely obviated.

To render the unlocking part or parts of the clasp accessible for desired manipulation even though these parts are protectively housed and thereby made normally inaccessible, the latch member Il is made to protrude slightly from the link housing B and to this end the latch thereof is preferably provided with a linger or finger nail engaging portion 38 which protrudes from the housing and which is adapted to be engaged by the finger nail of the user as is most clearly depicted in Fig. of the drawing. This protruding part 38 is also below the general level of the closure element 28, and if desired this closure element may be formed (from the metal struck out to obtain the orice 34) with a protruding portion 39 which forms a guard for the latch protruding portion 38 (to guard the latter from any accidental engagement). This arrangement is best depicted in Fig. 2 of the drawing. From this construction it will be seen that the latch member is rendered accessible for the desired manual manipulation. It will also be observed that the described parts are so constructed and designed that the latch member Il may be operated by a strainless linger or nger nail manipulation, it only being required to move the latch member from a position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing to cause a closure member to be released and to be permitted to spring to its open position shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing. It will also be observed that the substantial length of the closure member 28 and also the fact that it is formed with a hook shaped y end provides additional assurance against bracelet or watch loss, since after the parts have been sprung to open position, the bracelet has to be manually detached by moving the apertured end link A olf or out of the closure element of the other end link B.

The manner of making and using the center catch clasp of the present invention and the many advantages thereof will, in the main, be fully apparent from the detailed description thereof. It will be further apparent that some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts Without departing from the spirit of the invention dened in the following claim.

I claim:

A center catch clasp for watch bracelets cornprising a pair of end links, one of said end links being apertured, the other of said end links being formed as a housing and carrying the clasp members, said clasp members comprising a closure element for the top of the housing link pivoted about a horizontal axis at the end of the said link and provided at its inner free end with a downwardly hooked latch engaging part receivable by said housing link, a latch element pivoted within said housing link also about a horizontal axis and mating with said latch engaging part of the closure element to lock the latter when the same is moved to closed position, a linger engaging portion on said latch element protruding from the top of said housing link and engageable to move the latch element to release the closure element for movement to open position, and a spring anchored to the closure pivot and having one of its ends acting on the closure element to urge the same to open position and the other of its ends acting on the latch element to urge the same to locking position, the said closure element when in open position being adapted to be moved into or out of the aperture of said rst mentioned link.

EMIL RODRIGUEZ. 

